Daughter of a Thief
by Whispering Maiden
Summary: When Gambit finds himself a young father, he adbandons his child at the mansion for others to raise. This is the story of their estranged relationship and the woman the thief's daughter grows up to be. Bad summary, but please read :D
1. Chapter 1

Just an idea for a story. Review please if you're interested in reading more of this story!

J.C Posch

xXx

The cold, hard rain pelted the tall figure of a man mercilessly, but he didn't seem to notice. He was trembling hard, but it wasn't from the cold of the night. His auburn hair was plastered to his scalp, while his bangs guided the rain down his face. He was a handsome man, with clear ivory skin pulled over a ruggedly carved face. His cheek bones were high and his chin pointed. Had he been in a better, calmer mood, he would have been smiling his charming, devilish smile. He was well muscled, but built more like a swimmer or acrobat than a bulky athlete. And his eyes, how special they were. Red on black, with a sparkle to them. He left a trail of broken hearts in his wake.

A frail, pitiful cry issued from beneath his unique trench coat. He adjusted his hold on the small creature, but did not look down at it. He did his best to keep it warm and dry, safe from the night, but it was hard. He only had a motorcycle for transportation, and was now walking in the rain because it had got a flat tire. He was hoping that the thing beneath his coat would go back to sleep, but when the whimper became a constant cry, he knew it wouldn't. He swore and tried to ignore the heart breaking sound, but it continued clear and loud over the sound of the rain.

In a low, melodious voice, the Cajun man began to sing as a last resort.

"Go to sleep little baby,

Got to sleep little baby"

The voice lowered its cry slightly. With hope, the man continued to sing his sad but beautiful lullaby.

"Your momma's gone away and your daddy's gonna stay, didn't leave nobody but the baby. Go to sleep little baby, go to sleep little baby."

By the time he got to the large, metal gates of his home, the Cajun had managed to lull the thing to stop crying, but it would not go to sleep. He eased his way through the gate and headed up the drive way to the beautiful mansion ahead, he finished the lullaby.

He knocked on the big wooden doors, and was slightly surprised when three minutes later it was answered by a pretty woman with red hair in a lilac bathrobe. The surprise came from how fast the door was answered, as it was just after three in the morning.

"Remy, what are you doing? Do you have any idea what time it is? Where have you been, we haven't had contact with you in over a month." The woman, Jean Grey, asked in a hushed tone. She knew the Cajun man was forever miss placing or forgetting his key card to get into the mansion, but usually he used his stealthy skills as a thief to let himself in. She had a sneaking suspicion that getting someone to wake up as three in the morning to let him in was his idea of a joke.

Tonight was different though, Remy was unable to scale the walls and avoid the mansion's security features. It was the handicap under his coat that forced him to go through the front door. He felt lucky that it was Jean who answered the door, because he needed a doctor.

"Jean, I need help." Gambit said in an anxious but quiet voice.

"What do you-oh Remy…" Jean started to ask, but stopped herself when Remy pulled back his long coat to reveal his passenger.

Cradled in the nook of his arm was a frail baby wrapped in an old black t-shirt. It was obviously premature. It's face was peaceful, but there was something heartbreaking about it. As though it had already witnessed the horrors this world had to offer. It was extremely pale and thin. One of its arms that stuck out from its makeshift blanket and it was so thin it looked like it could snap in a heavy wind. It struggled to breathe, Jean guessed because its lungs were under developed.

"Cher, can you help? She ain't do'n so good." Remy said, quickly handing the baby off to the woman.

"I-I, Remy, what-"

"Ah'll explain later. Just, help her." Was all Remy would say.

Jean held the baby close to her and nodded. Within minutes she was down in the MedBay, attempting to intubate the frail little girl. She had woken up Hank McCoy to assist her, and he was on the phone trying to get permission from a local hospital to borrow their postnatal care equipment. Other X-men had awoken from the commotion and had come down to try to help. Logan was wrapping a warmed blanket around the baby, while Storm tried to comfort the silent Cajun in the corner.

"Remy, please, take off your clothing and change into something dry." Storm pleaded, attempting to dry the Cajun's hair with a towel. "You're going to get sick sitting here like this."

Remy just shook his head. Storm became more worried, knowing that the X-man would usually make a joke of her asking to remove his clothing.

"They'll lend us a few things." Hank stated, hanging up the phone and walking over to Jean. "The Professor is a friend of the chief of the pediatrics ward. But everyone I talked to said it would be better to bring her in. We just don't have the equipment and the knowledge to help a preemie."

"Non, you can't do that." Remy said quietly. Everyone looked over at him, seeing as this was the first time he talked since he asked Jean for help. "She-she too mutant. They ain't gonna help her."

"She looks completely human." Jean stated, setting up a monitor to read the baby's vitals.

"Her eyes, they ain't normal." Was all Remy would say.

Unconsciously, everyone in the room looked to Remy's own strange eyes.

"Remy, where did this baby come from?" Jean asked softly, guessing the answer.

"Don't matter. Just take care of her."

"We are taking care of her, but you owe us some answers." Jean insisted.

"Ah don't owe yah nothing! Now just take care of the kid!" Remy shouted, out of character. As everyone looked at him in surprise, Remy walked out of the room, lighting a cigarette.

Jean started to follow him when alarms went off on the monitor.

"She's crashing!" Jean cried. Remy was forgotten as the two doctors raced to save the tiny baby's life.

xXx

Three hours later, Logan went in search of the Cajun. He followed the scent of cigarettes, leather and spices to the mansion's roof. There he saw Gambit sitting on the damp roof with his knees tucked under his chin, smoking. The rain had stopped, but the sun had not started to rise yet.

"What were you playing at back there, Gumbo?" Logan snarled. "Didn't you hear that she was crashing?"

Remy just shrugged. "Ain't nothing I could do about it."

"You could have stayed there with her while she was fighting for her life." Logan fought to stay calm when the Cajun's answer was a shrug. "She's your daughter Gambit, and you left her in there."

Remy felt his muscles tighten up and his heart run cold. He thought he could keep the truth hidden, but its hard to fool a man with super senses. He couldn't accept this. He couldn't be a père. He was too young and didn't know a thing about babies. The mother defiantly wasn't going to be in the picture. Up till Logan said the word that scared him the most, 'daughter', he had tried to be in denial. He pretended that he had no connection to the frail baby, he pretended that she wasn't human. It was easier for him then to face the truth. He never asked for this.

"How she do'n?" Remy asked softly.

"She's stable, but both Red and Hank say she has a long fight ahead of her. She's going to have to be on machines until her lungs and heart develops more." Logan answered, lighting a cigar.

Remy sighed, not sure if he was relieved or not. He felt horrible with his indecision, because he knew he should be happy that the little girl was stable, but a small uncaring part of him knew that his life would be easier if she had just died. He was glad neither Jean or Xavier were near to read his thoughts.

He stretched and ran his fingers through his hair. "What am I gonna do Logan?"

Logan reached down and offered Gambit a hand up. "First thing I guess would be going down and seeing her."

xXx

The X-men watched their teammate from the distance of the doorway. Gambit stood silently in front of the glass incubator, looking down at his child with an expressionless face.

"He just looks so…cold." Jean said in a hushed tone, leaning on her husband who had woken up and joined the others in the MedBay.

"He'll get better, he's just in shock right now." Storm defended her 'brother'. "He'll be a great father, he just needs some more time."

"She was crashing and he didn't even try to stay with her." Logan growled. He felt disgust for the way Remy was acting, and didn't have a problem showing it.

"But, I still don't get, where did she come from?" Bobby asked. When people moaned, the youngest X-men quickly defended himself. "I didn't mean it like that! I _know_ where babies come from! I meant, who's the mother? And why didn't we know that Remy knocked some one up?"

"Maybe he didn't know." Storm said stubbornly. "If he'd known, he would have told me."

"I don't know," Scott said slowly. "It could explain his absence for the past month."

Gambit looked over at the other X-men and glared.

"Let's give them some privacy." Jean suggested, tugging at Scott's arm to lead him away. Slowly the superheroes went away, leaving the young father alone with his fragile daughter.

No matter how hard Gambit tried, he couldn't force himself to feel _anything_ for the baby. He guessed that he could be in shock, that would explain it. He knew how new fathers were supposed to feel, or at least had a good guess, but all he felt was scared, guilty and horribly empty.

He was a young man and this baby was going to change his life.

He got a jolt when the girl freed one of her scary arms from the tightly wrapped blanket and put her tiny hand against the glass, as if she could tell he was there. Almost as an instinct, Gambit reached out as well and put his hand on the thick glasses so that there was an inch separating the two.

Despite her obvious frailty, Gambit could see a strength in her, as if there was a fire burning from inside her that fueled her.

"You gonna be alright, baby girl, just fine." Gambit said softly. He had made a decision.

Getting down on his knees, he was eye level with the small girl. Softly he sang the last part of the haunting lullaby that was once sung to him.

"Don't you weep pretty baby, don't you weep pretty baby. You and me and the devil make three, don't need no other lovin' baby. Come lay bones on the alabaster stones and be my everlovin' baby ."

He got up from the ground and took one last look at his daughter.

"Go to sleep pretty baby."

With that, the thief vanished into the night.

xXx

Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for the reviews! I'd just like to clarify, that I love Gambit. He's defiantly in my top five for characters. I don't mean to dis him by writing this story, so please don't hunt me down, hard core fans! I'm just writing this story with Gambit as the 'bad guy' because in this universe he is supposed to be young and selfish. And in this story, instead of making him a person who would know what it's like to be alone so he does all he can to be a good father, he is a person who doesn't know anything about a real family and therefor abandons his little girl. You'd think that a person who suffered from something would know better to do it to someone else, but we have cases all the time where a person is a bully because they were bullied and people beat their children because they experienced domestic violence from their parents. Our world is filled with vicious cycles such as those and that's where this story is coming from.

I'm sorry if I offended anyone with this story. I hope you'll be able to make the stretch to see the side of Gambit I'm working with, a kind of alternate universe Remy, and keep reading, but I'll understand if this idea is too farfetched for you. Everyone has their own opinions, right? No disrespect to you or the Cajun.

And I'm sorry for my horrible grammar. I know it's annoying to be reading something and find all these mistakes, but I don't have much time for writing, so when I do get to write, I do it quickly/sloppily and don't take time to edit it. The curse of a teenager.

And for anyone interested in hearing the lullaby Remy sang, it's called 'Didn't Leave Nobody but the Baby'. There's this guy on YouTube that does a pretty good cover of it, but Town Hall does an okay version too.

xXx

"I-I can't believe this. Remy can't have done this." Jean stated, shocked.

The X-men sat around the table sipping coffee. It had been a long night. They realized it was going to be a very long day when they went to go check on the baby to find Gambit gone with no trace. They attempted to find him, but they knew that if the thief didn't want to be found, he wouldn't be.

"I can." Scott muttered, taking a drink of his black coffee.

Lightning flashed in Storm's eyes. "He'll be back."

"No he won't." Bobby argued.

"Yes he will!"

"Come on Storm, Gambit's long gone. He's not coming back." Bobby said, his face hard.

"But, how can he just leave? Leave the X-men, his daughter?" Jean asked, looking around at each of the other's faces for an answer.

"Because he's a coward. Always has been." Logan said coldly, entering the room. He had just spent the last two hours watching over the baby, talking to her softly so she wouldn't feel alone. He had only left her side because Xavier ordered him to go get some breakfast and promised the feral mutant that he'd watch over her while he was gone.

They stared at Logan, but didn't try to argue with him. Gambit was one of Logan's closest friends from the X-men. They both could be seen smoking on the roof together or racing their customized bikes against each other. But Logan took Gambit's abandonment very personally.

Logan grabbed a cup of coffee then headed back down to the baby's side.

"He'll be back, I know it." Storm said stubbornly.

xXx

A month later, everyone had given up hope of Gambit returning. They heard rumours that he was deep within the Thieves Guild, but little else. Gambit was known for disappearing for months at a time with no word, but this was different.

Logan had unofficially been named the baby girl's guardian. He was by her side every day, keeping her company. She had bad days, when they were sure she wouldn't make it through the night, and good days when they were even able to hold her. He had even been working on setting up a nursery in the room next to his, painting it a bright yellow and building shelves for it. One day when Steve Rogers had a day off, he came over and they worked together to build an adjoining door between the two rooms.

At the moment, Logan was sitting in the chair next to the incubator, reading out loud a motor manual for one of his bikes to the baby. Storm entered the room quietly and watched the man with interest.

"The next sections about changing the oil, we can skip this part since I already told you how to do that last week, but...hey 'Ro." Logan turned to look at the pretty woman with white hair. She smiled softly and walked over to look down at the baby girl.

"Reading her motorcycle manuals? Really Logan?" Storm asked in an amused voice.

Logan shrugged. "She needs to hear a voice and I can't think of enough things to say."

"Have you tried singing?" Seeing the look he gave her, Storm laughed. "Right, stupid question."

Logan got up and went to get another chair for Storm to sit in. They were both quiet for a bit, then Storm broke the silence.

"What's bothering you Logan?"

"Who says somethings bothering me?" Logan replied.

"I know you, Logan. The vein at your temple is throbbing. That either means you're about to kill someone, or you're thinking very hard about something."

"Do I have a stalker?"

"Don't flatter yourself, I'm just observant. Now tell me what's bothering you."

Logan sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "I've been spending the past month with this baby, and I keep thinking of her as 'the baby'. She doesn't have an identity."

Storm nodded, knowing that all the X-men only called her 'the baby'.

"So, I think we should change that. It doesn't feel right, she should have a name."

Storm furrowed her brow. "Logan, we can't. We're not her parents. That's Remy's-"

"Come on 'Ro! He ain't coming back!" Logan said in a louder voice then he meant to. Taking a breath, he continued. "It's not fair to her. If we keep up this act, that kid's going to be starting college and still be called 'the baby'."

Storm thought about this. She felt guilty about the idea of naming her brother's child without his consent. In her heart she still felt like he would come back any day with a brilliant explanation for his disappearance. As an abandoned child himself, shouldn't he be more empathetic and willing to care for his child? He is young, only twenty, but Storm knew that he was a good man and would do the right thing. Eventually.

Softly, as if she felt she was betraying Remy less if she said it in a quieter voice, she said. "Any suggestions?"

"Claire." Logan said without hesitation. When Storm looked at him in surprise, he said "What?"

"Nothing, I was just sure you were going to suggest 'bub'."

xXx

Within another two months, Claire was strong enough that she was able to move into the nursery Logan set up. While she still had to have an oxygen hooked up to her, Claire was able to eat without the assistance of a feeding tube and had a healthy heart. Since there was no current emergency going on in the world that called them away, the X-men felt this was a good excuse to throw a little party. Sort of a 'congratulations for living'.

Xavier had ordered lots of pizza to feed the crowd, as well as having an assortment of chips, cut up fruit and vegetable trays and many salads. Jean had done a last minute decorating job, putting balloons in every nook and cranny and hanging different coloured streamers from the walls. She had even gone to the trouble of making a banner out of an old bed sheet that read 'Claire-Bear, jr. X-woman!'. And what kind of party would be incomplete without a steady supply of beer.

"Aahh, a cold brewski." Bobby sighed, snagging a beer from the table.

Scott frowned and took the beer away. "Not for you, minor."

"Ah, come on Scott!" Bobby whined, tracing after the X-men leader as he walked away. "Just one! I promise, I won't tell anyone! Scott!"

They pasted Hank who was helping Jean and Angel fold up the clothing they had bought for Claire that day, and talking about a rumour they heard that Tony Stark was dating his assistant Pepper. Storm and Logan talked quietly as they ate pizza, with Claire sitting on Logan's lap.

"-so then we woke up and there was this huge bear rooting through our supplies and-hey you, what do you think you're doing?" Logan interrupted his story, looking down to see Claire gumming the slice of pizza in his hand. He bounced her lovingly on his knee and gently took the slice away.

"Aww, look at that!" Jean cooed, pointing over them. "I'm getting a picture!"

"Is pepperoni poisonous to babies?" Bobby wondered out loud as the others gathered around to look. He began to take a sip of his stolen beer only to have it taken away by Hank. "Hey!"

"She probably shouldn't be eating it, her digestive tract isn't ready for it." Hank replied easily as he held the beer out of Bobby's reach. "Which is too bad, the pizza might have helped her gain weight faster this way."

Gaining weight was a problem for Clair. Despite the doctors' efforts, she had only been able to gain three more pounds, and now roughly weighed five and a half pounds. Though she was eating, her body refused to store the fat.

"We're not worrying about her health problems tonight." Jean ordered, snapping a couple more pictures. "She's doing a lot better and we're going to be positive. Now everyone get together, we're going to take a picture."

Jean set up the camera and set it on a timer. Logan handed Claire off to Charles, and knelt beside his chair, giving a wolfish grin. Storm took a position behind Logan, laying her hands on his shoulder. Hank and Warren stood together with their arms crossed, showing their flexing muscles. Scott stood with his arm wrapped around Jean's waste. Bobby waited until the last second to jump on Scott's back, hugging him tightly as the flash went off.

"Bobby! Get off!" Scott yelled, pushing the teenager off as the others snorted with laughter.

"You goofs better not have ruined my picture." Jean muttered, collecting the camera and checking the picture.

"Do we have to take another?" Storm asked, looking over Jean's shoulder to look at the picture.

"No, it looks great! Look, Claire even opened her eyes! See?" Jean said proudly, holding up the camera to show the others. Everyone was excited until they got a closer look at the little girl's eyes.

"Oh my…" Hank said, breaking the silence.

It wasn't uncommon from premature babies to have their eyes closed for the majority of the time, even when she was awake. And to protect her sensitive eyes from the light, they had her wear these pads over them. Only now they realized that none of them had ever seen her eyes before, but now they had them on camera. They weren't the light blue that most babies' eyes are, not even the red on black like her father's. Claire's eyes were a pure black, everything from the iris to the cornea. It was looking into a starless night sky.

"She looks possessed or something, like out of a horror movie." Bobby muttered, earning him a hard glare from everyone. "What! I'm just saying, pure black eyes on a baby is creepy!"

"Shut up Bobby." Logan ordered, taking Claire into his strong arms. When she made a small sound like a yawn, he declared. "She's had enough for today, I'm going to take her to her new room."

"Do you want some help putting her to bed Logan?" Storm offered.

"Nah, I got her." Logan shook his head. He exited the room, with Bobby tagging after him.

"Logan, you know I didn't mean anything! I love Claire, she's awesome, it's just that her eyes startled me." Bobby apologized weakly.

"Yeah, I know."

By the time Logan had set Claire's oxygen tank up and her monitor in case something went wrong during the night, she was sleeping soundly in her crib. Logan laid another blanket over her, knowing how she got cold easily.

"Don't listen to that kid Claire Bear, his mouth thinks faster than his brain." Logan muttered softly. "Don't listen to _anyone_ who gives you guff about your eyes. Because as long as those eyes do what you tell them to do, they're fine."

Claire made a little snort, making Logan smile. He turned on the mobile above her head that had the top ten Canadian hockey players hanging from it. "Night kid."

A few minutes after Logan left, a shadowy figure opened the large window and let himself into the nursery. Without a sound, he crept to the crib side and looked down. The baby awoke but didn't make a sound. Instead she just looked up so that her pure black eyes met black and red ones.

"Hey petite, how yah do'n?" Gambit asked in a very quiet voice. "I hear you've been do'n better. And yah've grown, you're such a big girl now. Still got a ways to go though."

Claire tilted her head and studied her unknown father.

"Ah'm-Ah'm sorry, baby girl. Ah know I should have been here for yah." Gambit whispered. He reached down, but just before his manly fingers could brush her soft pale skin, he retracted it. "But trust me, I wouldn't be no good for you. Ah ain't know nothing bout babies or how to be a pere. And yah've been getting good care here. Logan's older, he know how ta take care of yah, and'll kill anyone who tries ta hurt yah."

Claire's only reply was a look that made Gambit feel as if she was looking into his soul. He shivered and stepped back. He didn't know if it was to calm his own nerves or to make her stop staring at him like this, but he began to hum their old Southern lullaby. It seemed to work because Claire closed her eyes.

"Yah'll understand when yah're older, petite, believe me on that." Gambit said defiantly. He placed a black and silver velvet necklace box on the bedside table. Inside was a silver necklace with a moon charm decorated with small diamonds, something Gambit picked up on his last job with the Guild. He heard distant footsteps coming closer, but was out the window before Storm entered the nursery.

Storm checked on the sleeping baby, then spotted the black velvet case on the table. Guessing who had left the gift, Storm picked up the case and took it with her as she left. She figured Logan would not be happy to know that the Cajun had come back to Claire, only to leave again.


	3. Chapter 3

So I have to admit that I'm really having a problem writing Logan's dialogue and the first part of this chapter may seem dry so I'll understand if people skip to the end bit. And thanks for the reviews! I just felt like I should respond to them, so here I go!

Crew: Thanks! And yeah, Remy does care about her, but he is scared and confused. Hope you'll keep reading!

JasmineBella: Thanks for the review, I'll try to update regularly: D

FanFiclover55: Thanks for your review : )

Sarahkayt: Thank you. I like the song too, its kind of what gave me the idea to write the story. And please pardon my brutal grammar, it really is awful :P

Robot worm: Thanks for the reviews! And I'll admit that I think the Remy we all know and love wouldn't have left his baby too, but this is a different Gambit. I'm glad you like her eyes and I'll answer the last name question in this chapter :D

Captain Mockingjay: Ah, I can always count on you! Ha ha, I'm glad you understand where I'm from. Thank you so much for your reviews!

CSIGettiBlue: I'm sorry, in this chapter I tried to answer why Logan is taking care of her, but its kind of a lame explanation. So sorry, but thank you for your review!

Imanija41: I hope I updated soon enough, ha ha! And I promise there will be many more interactions between Claire and Remy as she gets older. And that's a good idea for a mutation! I sort of had the same idea for her power, but a little different. Thanks for the review and the suggestion!

Jenna: Haters gonna hate, ha ha. So, I would apologize again and explain again that this is a different universe Remy, I'm just using his name and form in this story, and that in real life, everyday, people are doing the same wrongs they've suffered to the people around them; but you've already read what I have to say about that. I didn't begin this story to upset anyone. And I actually do feel like Logan would take care of Claire and be angry because he's always looking after the younger girls at the mansion and the guy has a temper. I think if a friend did something you weren't expecting like abandoning a baby, you'd be upset by that. Everyone has a right to their own opinions and I didn't mean to upset you. Thanks for your review.

Christie: Thanks for the review! I hope you'll stay interested :D

xXx

"You're #$%! Kidding me." Logan growled menacingly.

"Logan!" Storm reprimanded, indicating Claire who was currently playing with Storm's long white hair as she sat in her lap. "Watch your langue around Claire."

Logan turned open mouthed and stared at Storm, before turning back to his current problem. Charles had called him to his office to discuss having Claire's birth certificate made up, which was fine with Logan until he saw the full name written on the document.

"LeBeau? What were you thinking, putting that as her last name?" Logan snarled. Usually he kept his temper Xavier, but this had really made him lose it.

"Legally, LeBeau is her last name. And the civil workers at the agency were suspicious enough, with us not knowing who the mother is and her already being five months old, we had to try to do this as to the book as we could." Charles explained calmly, trying to ignore the slits Wolverine's claws had made in his oak desk.

"Chuck, I don't care about that. What I do care about is a few years from now when Claire is asking about where her last name came from and we have to tell her that it's from the man who abandoned her! How'd you'd like to walk around with that reminder everyday of your life?

"What were we supposed to name her?" Scott said, leaning against the large wooden desk. "'Logan?'"

Logan grinded his teeth, to hide his embarrassment. He didn't have an answer. He didn't have an answer for any of the things he's been doing about Claire. He knew he wasn't her father, but since he saw her fighting for her life that first night he took responsibility for her. Despite her frail body, she was a fighter, and he respected that. He guessed that it was because it was the right thing to do. The kid needed someone to fight with her, and no one else could be there for her like he could. It could have been an instinct that made him so protective of her.

"She's as good as a daughter to Logan." Storm said in his defence.

"But that doesn't mean anything in the court of law." Charles said reasonably. "We have to play by their rules so they won't see a reason to take her away and put her in foster care."

"I'd like to see them try to take her away." Logan muttered under his breath. "Fine. Let's do this by the book then. What do I have to do to adopt Claire?"

xXx

Within the month, little process had been made to bring Logan legally closer to being Claire's father, but it was good enough for Logan. He knew that a piece of paper couldn't make him love the little girl any more than he already did. The other X-men were happy for them, though they did feel a little uncomfortable with the idea of Claire being adopted without the knowledge of Gambit. When Logan had told them about his plans for her adoption, everyone was ecstatic. Bobby jokingly declared that he was going to fight Logan for Claire's custody, earning him a wolfish grin.

Today Storm and Logan took Claire for a picnic out by the cliff. Superhero business had taken them away from the mansion for the past two weeks, leaving them little time to spend with Claire, so they were taking the opportunity now that things were slowing down. They were having what Bobby named an 'old school picnic', with a red and white cloth spread out and everything. Logan was currently laying on his back and lifting Claire up to dangle above him. Whenever he brought her down so their noses touched, then quickly pushed her back up and made rocket ship noises, she laughed hysterically.

"You're going to give her hiccups doing that." Storm commented as she poured both the adults some lemonade.

"Ah, she's fine." Logan said, though he did stop. Instead he came up to a sitting position and put Claire on his shoulders. He winced slightly as she took a firm grip on his black hair and pulled until she found her balance.

"She's more than fine, she's beautiful." Storm said fondly, taking a picture of the two.

Now about six months old, Claire was a very pretty baby. She no longer looked sickly and though she was still small for her age. She had a very expressive face and a perky little nose that she liked to wrinkle. Her head was covered with soft auburn brown coloured hair, just like Remy's. The X-men had grown accustom to her black eyes and learned that when she was feeling a particularly strong mood, white specks appeared in them.

"You don't have to tell me." Logan replied proudly, tickling her feet. Then he removed Claire from his shoulders to put her on the table cloth and became oddly quiet. "But…but its kind of hard to tell who's prettier, you or her."

Storm looked over at the feral mutant with surprise. Logan wasn't usually shy about complementing women, thought this was the first time he directed his complements towards her.

"Thank you." Was all she could say, his comment throwing her off guard.

"Its just, you've been really good with Claire and we've been friends for awhile and-" Logan's face continued to get redder and redder.

"Logan-" Storm interrupted in a panicked voice.

"Yeah, I'd better stop while I'm ahead." Logan muttered looking down.

"No, it's not that, where's Claire?" Storm said. Both the adults shared a look before leaping to their feet to look to see where the baby crawled to. Logan sniffed the air, trying to track the familiar scent of baby powder, apples and that order that all babies have. His heart stopped when he caught her scent over the cliff edge.

"Claire!" Logan yelled, running to the edge, afraid what he might see.

"Hey, you two missing a baby?" Angel called, flying up the cliff's face. In his arms was Claire, with a slightly puzzled look on her face. Angel landed and handed the baby to Logan.

"Thank God for you Warren! If you hadn't been there…" Storm said gratefully, embracing the young man.

"Don't worry about it." Warren said reassuringly as Storm let him go. "She's okay and that's all that matters. But you might want to consider putting a leash on that kid or something!" He suggested jokingly as he leapt back over the cliff and flew away.

Storm let out a sigh of relief, turning back to Logan. "When you ran to the cliff like that, I thought my heart was going to-Logan?"

When she faced him, she realized that he was no longer standing behind her but walking towards the mansion. Beginning to follow, she called "Logan?"

"I shouldn't have got distracted." Logan muttered, so only Claire could hear him. To Storm he said without turning "I have to go."

Claire manoeuvered herself so that her small face peeked over Logan's muscled shoulder. She made a face that Storm read as "he's kinda crazy when he's protective, isn't he?"

Storm smiled and crossed her arms, thinking. Logan was about to ask me out…interesting.

xXx

*Four years later*

The black eyed four year old sat on her father's motorcycle in the large garage, making engine noised. She knew she wasn't supposed to wander off without telling an adult where she was going and not without supervision, and she REALLY knew she wasn't allowed to touch any of Daddy's bikes without his say so. But she was angry at all the adults and she wanted to do something rebellious.

"Broderhood, come'n in fast!" Claire called out, in the middle of her game of 'X-men'. "Cyclops, you blast 'em! Beast, bring 'round the plane! I'm gonna go for Sabertooth!"

With the plastic knifes (and one fork) she taped onto her hands, she slashed at the air, making battle sounds.

"I got the bub!" Claire cheered. "The X-men win again! Yay-uh oh."

During her celebration, she managed to unstable the bike. She quickly jumped off of it before it fell to the ground with a loud crash. Seeing her daddy's favourite bike laying on the ground, she broke into a cold sweat.

"Oh no oh no!" Claire muttered, scrambling back to the bike. Grunting, she attempted to lift up the bike and put it back in its proper space. She knew how much trouble she'd get in if her parents found out she went out to the garage alone to play with the motorcycle. "Come on, come on!"

"Yah need some help there, petite?" A pleasant male voice asked.

Claire spun, afraid that she got caught. She was ready to jump into an excuse about what she was doing when she realized she didn't know the man. He had a weird voice. He sounded French, but different from Jean-Paul's French. Though it sounded weird, it was nice. But Claire knew not to trust someone just because they had a nice voice. Magneto had a nice voice, and he was a super villain.

"No, I'm okay." Claire answered slowly.

"Yah sure? That bike be look'n pretty heavy." The stranger offered. Claire could hear that he was holding back from laughing, making her blush.

"It might be for you," Claire said saucily, "but I'm a superhero. I'm really strong."

"Ah'm sure yah are." Despite Claire's rudeness, the man still sounded like he was laughing at her. He turned away and walked away slowly, "Well, if yah sure, Ah guess Ah'll be going…"

Claire went back to struggling with the bike. Then she came to the decision that even if the man was a bad guy, she was still more afraid of the punishment her parents would give her than what he could do. The stranger was only ten feet away when she called, "Wait! Can, can you help me, please?"

The man turned and smiled, showing bright, white teeth. "Ah'd be happy to."

With little effort, the man righted the motorcycle. Claire quickly went over the bike to make sure she didn't scratch or damage it in anyway, then turned to the man. "Thank you."

"No problem. Now, yah want to tell meh why yah're out here by yo'self?" The stranger asked, crossing his arms and grinning down at her.

Claire swallowed, feeling trapped. Weakly she said, "Uh, I'm not supposed to talk to strangers. Sorry."

A wave of what looked like pain swept across the man's face, but he quickly covered it. Claire thought Daddy had called that a poker face. Then he got down on one knee and held out his hand. "Well den, I'm Remy."

The small girl eyed the hand then took it. "I'm Claire Lebeau."

Remy took a seat on the oil stained cement floor, with both his long legs sprawled in front of him. He looked so relaxed and at ease that Claire let down her guards slightly.

"So now that we ain't strangers no more, why don'cha tell me what yah do'n out here by yo'self?" Remy repeated his question. "Don't tell me yo' parents just let you wander 'round here alone?"

"No, they don't usually." Claire admitted, slowly lowering herself into a sitting position. "I'm not supposed ta be out here."

"So what yah do'n petite?" Remy pursued.

Claire pulled at her braided hair uneasily. She knew why she was disobeying her parents, but she couldn't admit to any of her adults. They'd think she was stupid and selfish, and dislike her even more than they already did. But Remy, he seemed like a big kid to her.

"Well," Claire stalled uneasily. "Mum just had a baby and nobody gots time for me now. That sounds bad, doesn't it?"

Remy scratched his chin. "No, so yah feel'n bit lonely?"

Claire shrugged. She knew she shouldn't be jealous of her new little brother and tried not to be. At first, she was mad because her brother made Mum really sick and she thought she would die. Now they were both fine, the baby took up all their parents attention. Little Jamie was a sweet little baby, with bright blue eyes and almond brown skin. He looked a lot like his mum, but he had his father's nose and chin. It wasn't just the time they spent with him, but the fact that Jamie seemed to fit in better than Claire did. As hard as she tried, she couldn't find one characteristic she shared with her parents.

"I know Jamie needs them more." Claire replied boldly. "I'm big enough to look after myself."

"Yah bluffing me, child?"

"What?"

"How do yah really feel? No need ta be tough with Remy." Remy replied easily.

"I-I guess I'm a little lonely." Claire said in a quiet voice. "Daddy has a boy now, he don't need me. He won't want to teach me anymore about tools and fighting."

"Ah sure that ain't true." Remy comforted.

"It is!" Claire insisted. She looked around before inching closer to whisper. "Know what? Sometimes, sometimes I don't feel like I belong right."

"Yo parents love yah petite." Remy said. Before he thought about it, he went on to say. "But they seem a bit busy right now. How 'bout Remy spend time with you instead?"

Claire's eyes widened with excitement, before she quickly sobered her expression. "You know, some people told me I had devil eyes."

Remy raised his eyebrows. "Is that so?"

"Yeah, but I'm no devil. I'm good." Claire insisted. "You have strange eyes too, but I don't think you're no devil or demon either."

Remy grinned. "Right, Ah'm not."

"So if you no devil or demon, are you an angel?" Claire whispered.

This took Remy back. In all his years, he had been called a lot of things, but never an angel.

"If you are an angel, you probably can't tell me, can you?" Claire concluded.

"That right."

Claire smiled, "Okay then, its alright for you to play with me."

"But one thing though, okay petite? The 'No tell'n' rule goes for yah too." Remy said, holding her eyes with his. "Yah can't tell no one 'bout me."

"Not even Daddy?"

"'Fraid not, or else I'd have to go away." Remy said honestly.

Claire thought this over. She knew she was supposed to tell Daddy everything, but right now she just didn't want to be alone anymore.

"Okay then, I won't tell." Claire promised, taking Remy's hand and smiling. From outside the garage, she heard Logan calling and saw Remy getting up. "You're going?"

"Yeah, but don't worry, Ah'll be back." Remy said. Though she had trusted Remy enough to tell him her secrets, in the pit of her stomach she didn't quite believe he would come back.

With the power that Claire could only guess came from being an angel, Remy disappeared into the shadows before Logan entered the garage.

"Claire?" Logan called, looking around until he spotted the little girl. "What are you doing out here darl'n? You know you're not supposed to wander off without an adult."

Claire hung her head and thought but now that I have my own angel, I don't have to worry about that rule anymore, but said "I know, I'm sorry."

"Just don't go off again, we were worried about you." Logan said sternly before picking Claire up and putting her on his shoulder. "Now let's go, we're going to take a family picture."

In the shadows, Claire could have sworn that she saw the flash of a white smile.


	4. Chapter 4

Wow, haven't updated in awhile. Sorry! And to answer the reviews, yeah, with his senses Logan would have totally have smelled Remy. I guess all I can say to that is maybe Claire smell's a lot like Remy (without the smoke and alcohol, of course) and maybe Logan was distracted. I just didn't want Logan to discover the Cajun had been around quite yet. Any way, thanks for the reviews!

xXx

The Logan family sat around the breakfast table in their apartment. Logan was spoon feeding his five month old son applesauce while his wife poured them both some coffee. Their daughter Claire crammed her toast with peanut butter into her mouth the moment she sat down and finished her small glass of milk in one gulp. She rushed her dishes to the sink and made a bolt for the door.

"Whoa, simmer down there kid!" Logan laughed, watching his daughter's act. "What's your hurry?"

Claire took her hand off the doorknob and came back to the table.

"I'm just going out to play with Bobby, Daddy." Claire replied innocently.

"Really? You know you've been spending an awful lot of time with Bobby lately." Logan said, wincing as Jamie whipped a handful of applesauce at him gleefully. Other than at breakfast, dinner and bedtime, Logan hardly had seen Claire for more than a few moments during the day for the past months. He knew his time was occupied with missions and baby care, but he was worried that he was negating Claire, and worse, that she didn't mind.

"Yeah, I guess." Claire said slowly. "I'm helping him meet ladies."

Storm and Logan shared a look.

"Maybe we should have a talk with Bobby." Storm said carefully, handing Logan a cup of coffee.

"Its okay, I don't mind! We also play hide-and-go seek, and he's been helping me with my new powers." Claire said quickly, making Logan sense a lie.

Two months ago, Claire had developed her mutant powers. To her parents' relief, it had nothing to do with exploding objects. Instead, it was the ability to shape and control shadows. Somehow her powers allowed her to form shadows into tangible objects of her choice. At first they had believed her power to be telekinetic, as she could move objects and create force shields, but then they realized the presence of dark masses involved. Her parents had gone outside to find her playing on a swing that hung from the large tree on the grounds. When they realized that there had never been a swing there before, and her toy seemed to be made of something like a storm cloud. With her mutation came a new agility as well.

"You know, I've been pretty busy lately Claire, and I'm sorry." Logan said, turning meet his blue eyes to her black ones. "But I have some time today, so why don't we go out to the garage together for awhile? You can help me change my bike's oil and then we can work on your power training."

Claire's eyes shone. "Really? Can we go in the Danger Room and-"

Claire's voice was cut off as the alarm sounded, signalling that the X-men were needed. Logan leapt to his feet and handed Jamie off to 'Ro, kissing her forehead before he went.

"Sorry Claire Bear, we'll have to do that oil change some other time." Logan apologised, ruffling her hair before he exited out the door.

In response, Claire sighed and leaned her head mournfully onto the table. Storm got up from her seat and went over to the child. She rubbed her small back consolingly.

"He'll be back later Claire." Storm said softly. "Would you like to go to the city with me and Jamie this morning to pick up some groceries?"

Claire shook her head and hugged her mother. "No, I guess I'll just stay here. Bye."

Storm watched her daughter exit the apartment, wishing she knew how to cheer the small girl up.

xXx

Claire hurried out to the clearing in the woods behind the institute, carefully avoiding any adults who would ask her about why she was alone and where she was going. She slowed as she entered the enclosed meadow and caught her breath.

"Remy?" She called, looking around for her 'angel'. "Remy?"

"Bah!" A man belted, dropping from a tree to land in front of her, making her scream.

"AH!" Claire stumble back. Realizing who it was, she glared at the snorting Cajun man. "You're a jerk."

"Aw, don't be sore, kitten! Remy just teas'n yah." Remy laughed, getting down on one knee so he was eye level with the girl. Months ago when he first approached her in the garage, he didn't mean for it to lead to seeing and talking to her every day. He was just too curious to see what it would be like to talk to his daughter, and the opportunity presented itself. He couldn't stop himself from offering her his friendship, which led to them meeting almost every day since.

"I'm going to get you back for that." Claire promised.

"Ah'm sure yah will, now," Remy said swinging the girl up so she sat on his shoulders. "what does the petite chaton wanna do today?"

Claire took out one of her braids and used her elastic to give Remy a short ponytail. She couldn't help but notice how close their shades of hair were to each other. "Can we play Black Jack in the tree again?"

Remy had shown the little girl the large oak tree, shaped almost like an open palmed hand weeks ago. It was perfect for sitting in without the fear of little girls falling from it. He had found it the year he joined the X-men and was glad to share it with her. He was also thrilled that Claire shared his love for cards.

"Course we can petite. Ah also got a new card trick to show you." Remy went on. "Ah also brought some jelly beans for us to place bets with, and…kitten?"

Remy suddenly noticed that a weight had been lifted off his shoulders, in a bad way. He was a strong man and Claire was so thin that he hardly noticed when she disappeared. Frantic, he looked around him.

"Claire? Claire!" Remy bellowed, his heart pounding.

"Boo!" Claire appeared in front up him, hanging upside down. She hung from a tree branch, having pulled herself into a nearby tree while Remy was talking and using the climbing skills he taught her to stay ahead of him until now. She used her newly developed power to create a weight equal to hers on his shoulder until she was ready to play the prank.

Remy sighed with relief. He reached up and took Claire from the tree, then threw her over his shoulder.

"You a complete brat, anyone ever told you dat?" Remy asked in a dry tone.

Claire laughed, "Remy! Put me down!"

"Oh, like dis?" Remy asked, lowering her further down his back like he was losing his grip.

"No!"

"How about dis den?" Remy joked, pulling her around so that he held her upside down in front of him.

"REMY!" Claire squealed, partly enjoying his game. "I'm gonna fall!"

"Remy's got yah, kitten, don't you worry." Remy promised, carefully setting Claire down on her feet. "Ah ain't never gonna let you fall."

Now standing firmly on the ground, Claire smiled and hugged Remy around the waist. "You are such a good angel."

"Only kind there is petite." He replied, slightly uneasily. Yeah, I'm such a good guy alight, dat's why I left the little girl in the first place.

Talking with her and playing games with Claire in secret for a few hours a day didn't seem enough for Remy anymore. When she eventually had to go back to Logan and 'Ro, he found himself missing her. He wondered what it would be like, being there for her all the time. Getting her ready for school, talking to her while they ate meals, tucking her in at night. He knew this charade wasn't going to be able to last forever. He would soon lose her, and he'd have to go back to watching from the shadows. His heart twisted painfully knowing that because of his stupid mistake of abandoning her years ago, he wouldn't be there to see his little girl grow up. He wouldn't be the one to scare off her boyfriends, or cheer at her graduations, or walk her down the aisle at her wedding.

Remy shook his head, as if it could clear the painful thoughts occupying his mind.

"Come on kitten, let's go play Black Jack."

xXx

Logan sat in the change room, rubbing his face tiredly. He had just gotten back from a recon turned rescue mission with the X-men.

"That was a rough one."

"You said it." Hank said, cracking his neck with fatigue. "I think I might go for a refreshing beverage at the bar. Care to join me?"

"A beer would be great right now, but I promised to spend some time with Claire." Logan replied with a sigh.

"Oh I see."

"Yeah, I've hardly spent any time with her since James was born. She's been pretty good about it, but its starting to wear her down a little." Logan explained. "I feel like a real dirt bag, but what can I do? 'Ro needs help taking care of James and I still have to go whenever I'm called for a mission with the X-men, or the Avengers, or the Defenders, or the-"

"I think I get it."

"Bobby's been looking after her most days, which is a real help."

"Who have I been looking after?" Their younger teammate, now twenty two, entered the change room.

Logan raised his eyebrows. "Claire?"

Bobby shook his head. "I've hardly seen the rug rat around."

Without saying a word, Logan stood and hurried out of the room.

Bobby looked around in surprise. "Was it something I said?"

xXx

Remy was walking Claire back to the clearing. He'd spent the day playing cards, climbing trees, eating jelly beans and teaching Claire the complex martial arts of staff fighting. He proudly sported a large bruise on his thigh that Claire gave him when she successfully mastered a new offensive move.

"Well, dis is our stop." Remy said, half heartedly, knowing that he'd have to wait until tomorrow to see her again.

"Yeah, I guess. Unless you want to come to supper with me? Mummy always makes lots of food, so I don't think she or Daddy would mind." Claire offered hopefully.

Remy laughed, thinking about the looks on Logan's and Stormy's face if he turned up for dinner. "I don't think so kitten."

"Oh." Claire looked disappointed. "I wish you would."

When Claire's face grew sadder, Remy asked "What wrong petite?"

"It's just…Daddy said he would spend the day with me today, and he didn't." Claire admitted, knowing she could tell her angel anything. "I know he had to go save the world or something, but I miss him. He doesn't want to be with me anymore."

A thought started to form in Remy's head…

"You know, sometimes it feels like he isn't even my real daddy any more. " Claire whispered, looking off into the distance. "Like I don't belong."

"You know, Remy used to feel like that too." Remy admitted.

"Really?"

"Yeah, when I was a kid, nobody wanted me around unless I could do something for 'em." Remy said, thinking back to darker times in his childhood when he worked as a pickpocket for the cruel gangster Fagan. He knew Claire's situation was completely different, but he needed her on his side for his plan to work. "Wasn't until I found the right people that I started to feel like I belonged."

He let Claire think about this for a moment, then said. "Do yah want to come and live with Remy for a bit?"

Claire looked up at him in shock. "What?"

"Just to get a change of scenery. Ah can finally show you New Orleans's, where Ah grew up." Remy offered. He saw Claire's eyes glow with wanting, and he felt guilty, but he couldn't stop now. "I could look after yah, make sure yah don't feel lonely anymore."

"I, um…" Claire was about to say yes, but then she thought of the training her parents had drilled into her. Don't go off with strangers. Staying on the Xavier grounds to play with Remy was different than leaving to go live with him.

"You know you want to." Remy sang, charm oozing from him.

"I do, but-" Remy felt his heart sink. "I can't leave my family, Remy."

Remy took in a sharp breath. He knew he shouldn't do this, that it was wrong, but the thought of losing Claire made him continue. "Well, yah see baby girl, they ain't really yo family."

Claire looked confused.

"That feeling of not belonging, not feeling like yah fit in quite right, it comes from they not being yo' real family. Stormy isn't yo' real Mama, and Logan ain't even close to being yo' pere."

"Why, why would you say that Remy? They're my family!" Claire protested, getting upset.

"You know you don't look a thing like dem, and you've always wondered why." Remy went on. When Claire looked down, he knew he was getting to her. "They adopted you when you was just a petite bebe."

"I'm yo real daddy, baby girl." Remy said softly.

Before Claire could respond, a man's roar shook the clearing. Remy and Claire looked over to see Wolverine standing fifty feet away from them, still in his uniform. His metal claws extended from his fists as he charged Remy.

"Merde."

Remy did a back flip into the tree before Logan was able to gut him. He dodged as the feral continued to try to 'do what he does best'.

"How dare you come back here, you son of a bitch!" Logan yelled swiping his claws. "After all these years! To mess with her head, fill it with this garbage!"

"It ain't garbage and you know it Wolverine! Ah'm her real daddy!" Gambit yelled back, throwing glowing cards at the other man.

Anyone knew the thing that made Logan really made was for someone to say that he wasn't Claire's real father.

"No, you had your chance." Logan growled. "And you threw it away years ago! You weren't there when she was hooked up to all those machines! When she had tubes crammed down her throat, just so she could breathe! You weren't by her side when she was fighting for her life!"

"Ah just made a mistake-"

"No, a mistake would have been leaving for maybe ten minutes, realizing that you're an ass, and coming back! Not waiting almost six years and deciding you changed your mind!" Logan snarled.

"You can't keep her from me!"

"Like Hell I can't!" Logan roared, leaping at Remy. This time the Cajun wasn't as fast and Logan sliced his shoulder, making him scream. Logan was about to cut him again just as Remy charged another card.

"Daddy, don't!" The shrill cry made both men stop and turn. They saw the little girl they both cared about pressed up against a tree, curled in a ball and her hands over her ears. Her face was red and tears streamed down her face. Her eyes held pure terror. "Please don't."

"Get out of here Gambit, now." Logan said threateningly, backing away.

Gambit scrambled back. He ripped his shirt to make a quick bandage to stop the flow of blood from his shoulder. He started to walk towards Claire, but stopped when a warning growl escaped from Wolverine.

"Ah'm sorry petite, Ah never meant to scare yah." Remy said softly, gazing down at his frightened daughter. "Don't you worry, Ah'll be back for yah, okay?"

"You come around here again and I'll cut your head off." Logan swore.

Remy just shrugged in reply and blew a kiss to Claire before disappearing into the woods.

Logan waited until he couldn't see the Cajun anymore, before dropping to one knee and reaching out to Claire. "Come here darl'n, let's go back to the apartment. We need to talk."

Instead of rushing into Logan's open arms like she usually would, Claire gave him a scared look and ran in the direction of her home. Logan rose, feeling his heart sink. The trouble Gambit caused here today would cause his little girl more heart ache and confusion than she'd ever felt before.

But that was just like Gambit, leaving broken hearts wherever he went.


	5. Chapter 5

Scottfan: You're right, I changed both their characters to fit with the story. Wolverine is nowhere close to being perfect in the comics; he's one of the most messed up characters ever! Despite this, I think he's a really cool character and I wanted to use him in this story. I guess in this universe, he's more responsible, caring, and fatherly because I wanted Claire to have someone good to look after her. I think it would have been an awful story if it was "Wolverine adopts Claire, gets drunk all the time, and eventually leaves her like Gambit did. New parent steps in". I don't think anyone would have wanted that. But have you noticed that in a lot of fanfics people change his character to make him 'superdad'? I guess there's a few of us who want him to be a really good guy. And in the comics, he's had two sons (one he had no idea existed and the other presumed dead, both I'm sure he would have looked after if he knew they were alive) and a foster daughter. Anyway, I'm sorry this is a too unbelievable story, but I was just taking the Marvel characters and adjusting them to write a story about Claire. Thanks for reviewing!

imaninja41: You're right! Ha ha, thanks for the reviews!

Guest: Yeah, it's a sad situation. I'm sorry to hear about your relationship with your own dad. Chin up, okay? From Ontario with maple syrup ;P

Robotic worm: Haha, I'm so glad I have you hooked! And I'm thrilled to hear you're that involved with the story :D Thanks for the review!

scorpiogrl576: Happy to hear you're addicted! :D And I'm glad you like her power, I was worried that I didn't explain it well enough and people would be confused. Thanks for the hope and the reviews!

FanFicLover55: Thank you so much for your awesome review! I'm glad you're liking it and that you're a real 'Wolvie' fan :D

Leaf7: To be honest, I was going to keep the mother out of the story, just because there's enough drama going on. But if I get enough requests to have Rogue or Claire's biological mother written in, I will comply. Thanks for your interest!

CSIGetteBlue: Thanks for the review, I hope you're still reading the story :)

Captain Mockingjay: Thanks for the wonderful review, I'm loving the interest and care you put in them, I really appreciate them :D

xXx

Claire sat in the cushioned window seat of her bedroom, staring down at the grounds where some of the older students were playing ultimate Frisbee. Usually she would be down there begging them to let her play with them (there were less than twenty teenager students at the school currently, but whatever they did Claire desperately wanted to be included.) But at the moment she was too confused and sad to bother them.

Miserably, she formed a ball out of the shadow closest to her and began to play catch with herself. She tossed it against the wall and caught it as it bounced back to her.

Storm entered the girl's bedroom, knocking quietly. "Sweetie, do you want to come out and have some lunch?"

Claire shook her head in response and drew her knees up to her chin.

Storm came closer to her. In the reflection of the window, Claire could see James perched on her mother's hip, happily gumming one of her toy horses.

"Come on Claire, you've already missed breakfast. You have to eat something." Storm said in a gentle but firm voice. She knew how upset her adoptive daughter was, but she was worried about her not eating.

Claire just shrugged in reply. Storm took a seat beside her and was pleased when Claire moved to lean on her.

"Why aren't I your real kid? Like Jamie is?" Claire asked in an almost inaudible voice.

Storm stroked her hair. "You are sweetie!"

"Then why did Remy say you weren't my real mom?" Claire replied quietly, her eyes starting to moisten once again when thinking about Remy and what he said.

Storm didn't know how to reply. Years ago when everyone else trashed Remy, she had given him the benefit of the doubt. She had trusted him to come back for Claire. But when she married Logan and officially adopted Claire, she hardly thought of her as anyone else's child but Logan's and hers. After hearing how Remy had come back, almost six years later and tried to take Claire away with him…she just didn't know how to feel. She knew in her heart that Remy had a right to see his daughter, but she felt that Claire belonged with her and Logan. Her heart broke at the idea of no longer being Claire's mother.

"What Remy meant was that I'm not your biological mother." Storm answered softly.

"What does biological mean?"

"In this sense, it means that you didn't come from my tummy, like Jamie did."

Claire looked at Storm hard, in surprise. "Where did I come from then?"

Realizing that Claire had misunderstood, thinking that she had come from a different body part of Storm, she laughed. When Claire still looked confused she answered soberly. "You still come from the tummy Claire, just someone else's tummy."

"Is that why I don't look like you?"

Storm nodded.

"Who's tummy did I come from?" Claire inquired.

Storm had wondered that question too for the longest time. Remy always was a ladies man, and had more lovers than most probably did. Storm thought back on some of the women she knew had been involved with the Cajun and tried to connect any physical similarities between them and Claire.

"I-I don't know." Storm said honestly. Claire's face saddened so she quickly added, " But you know what? It doesn't matter because that doesn't make you any less of my child. You are still one hundred percent mine and I'm still one hundred percent yours."

Claire threw her arms around Storm, making sure not to bump James.

"Is it the same with Daddy?"

"It is." Storm smiled, glad that Claire was beginning to understand.

"But…Remy said he was my pere." Claire said slowly. She knew enough basic French from Jean Paul to know the meaning of that word.

"Well, in biological terms, he, he is your father." Storm stuttered. Claire looked even more confused than ever. Storm sighed, she had to tell her the truth. They meant to tell Claire about her heritage, but they hoped to do it when she was older, when she would be able to understand better. But with the circumstances being what they were, she'd have to explain now.

She placed James on the soft carpet to play on, and patted her lap. "Come here sweetie, I have a story for you."

By the time Storm was finished, Claire was sniffing, trying not to cry. She had gotten very upset when Storm got to the part where she described the thief disappearing into the night and had to be comforted, but she had cheered up a little when Storm explained how Logan had fallen in love with the tiny baby instantaneously and adopted her. She made sure to add the parts where Logan was particularly sweet, like reading motorcycle magazines to her to lull her to sleep.

"But why did he leave me?" Claire asked tearfully. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No sweetie, you didn't do anything. Remy, well, he was very young when you were born and he didn't know how to be a father yet. He was scared." Storm answered, not having a good explanation for her question. "Sometimes people make really bad mistakes when they're scared."

Claire pulled uneasily at her reddish brown braids before admitting. "Remy asked me to leave with him yesterday. And, and I thought I was going to go with him. I was gonna say yes."

She paused before adding. "But it felt wrong, Mom. You're not supposed to leave your family, not matter what."

Storm didn't know how to reply so she just nodded and said, "That's right, baby."

Claire got to her feet. "I thought Remy was my friend, but that's wrong, I guess."

What could Storm say to that? She didn't want Claire to turn against her biological father, but she didn't want to lose Claire to him either. Her heart felt like it was pulled in too many different directions.

"I better go apologise to Daddy." Claire announced. Before leaving the room, she kissed her little brother's head as he pulled clothes out of her hamper.

Claire crept into the kitchen, where Logan sat going over mission reports. Softly she called to him, "Daddy?"

The night before Logan had scolded her about lying to them and talking to strangers, and he was beginning to lose his temper. While Storm knew that Logan was mad at Remy, not Claire, their daughter mistook his anger and thought it was directed at her. When she tried to explain that he had told her that he was an angel and that he was just trying to be her friend, Logan interrupted saying that the Cajun was no such thing. When she asked what Remy meant about him being her real dad, Logan lost it. He threw his hands up in the air and stormed out of the apartment. Storm quickly followed and Claire could hear muffled fighting from the hallway. Later he had come to apologise, and explain in a calmer manner that he was just worried about her safety, but she had refused to see him. She stood on the one side of her closed bedroom door and yelled through it that Logan was a jerk and she didn't want to speak to him.

Claire had avoided him since, but now she crept closer to her father, looking guilty.

Logan flashed her a smile, showing her that he wasn't upset with her. He pushed out his chair away from the table so that she could scurry onto his lap. Once there, she kissed his scruffy cheek.

Logan felt guilty for losing his temper in front of Claire. He never meant for it to happen. He knew personally how upsetting it was for a kid to be told that the man who's been there for you your entire life isn't your 'real' father.

They sat in silence for awhile, just looking at the papers spread out on the table in front of them.

In a tiny voice Claire said "I'm sorry Daddy. You're not a jerk. And I won't ever leave you guyes."

Logan gave her a squeeze. "I'm glad darl'n. Now do you want to go do that oil change?"

Claire squealed and jumped down from his lap, running into her room. She was back in a flash, wearing the tiny overalls he bought her for just these occasions and a brilliant smile.

"Let's do it bub!"

xXx

Professor Xavier sat at his large wooden desk, going over the school's budget. Needing a break, he rolled back from the papers and rubbed his eyes tiredly. Sensing the presence of another being in his office, he called gently, not bothering to look up.

"Beautiful evening, isn't it Mr. Lebeau?"

"Ah never could sneak up on yah, Professor."

Professor Xavier looked over to the large window that over looked the gardens. In in sat the tall, masculine silhouette of the famous thief. With the lower lighting in the room and the sun setting behind him, his physical characteristics didn't show. He looked like a shadow to Charles Xavier.

"So Ah guess Ah don't have to tell yah why Ah'm here, right?"

"I believe the issue is quite plain, yes." Xavier sighed. "But I'm afraid there's nothing I can do Gambit, you made your choice."

"Why does everyone keep saying that!" Remy said, angry. "A man can change his mind, yes?"

"Of course, but when it's the case of a child, the rules are different." Xavier said in a kind but firm voice. "Had you come back before this, perhaps it would have been different.

Remy sighed and ran his long fingers through his hair.

"She's my daughter, Professor, Ah have right to be with her."

"I partly agree. I do believe you and Claire should see each other, but we have to consider Logan's and Ororo's feelings in this as well. Legally, they are her parents now. You no longer have custody of Claire, and you haven't for awhile. They have the right to say who is and is not allowed to be around Claire." Xavier said practically. "Sneaking around and attempting to kidnap the girl wasn't the best way to earn their trust."

"Kidnap? She's mah daughter!" Remy exclaimed, outraged.

"I'm sorry Remy. I can't just let you take Claire and go. The best I can do is speak with her parents and ask them on your behalf if they will permit you to see her."

"Yeah, fat chance Wolverine's gonna let me see her." Remy spat, turning away.

"Gambit, give them a chance. Earn back their trust and…" Professor Xavier started to say, but the thief was already gone. The red velvet curtains flapped in the wind that came through the open window.

xXx

It was roughly after two o'clock in the morning when Claire was waken by the sound of a tapping at the window. Usually such a small sound would have gone unheard by the usual heavy sleeper, but upsetting dreams of angels and demons playing tug of war with babies kept the young girl in a light sleep.

Claire turned to the window to see her fallen angel standing on her ledge, smiling charmingly at her. At first she wondered if she should go wake her parents, but instead she went and opened the locked window. She stepped back so that the tall man could ease his way in.

"Hey kitten," He greeted softly, flashing her a white smile.

"I'm not supposed to talk to you." Claire said as a greeting.

"What, not talk to yo' old Remy?"

"Daddy said that he was going to cut off your head if you came around me again." Claire warned, looking around as if she suspected her father to jump out of her toy box at any moment.

"Yeah, Wolvie always did have a temper." Remy sighed, taking a seat on Claire's bed. He patted the spot beside him but Claire acted as if she didn't see. "Didn't yah miss meh?"

Claire shifted uncomfortably. "Yes, but…didn't you miss me?"

"Of course Ah did petite, dat why Ah climbed five stories and be risk'n mah head to come see yah." Remy replied with a grin.

"No, I mean before that." Claire stated, pulling her hair nervously. "When I was a baby."

"Oh," Remy felt his heard sink. "Wolverine tell yah about dat?"

"Mom did, but yes, I know. I know how you ran away." Claire said, her eyes fixed on the guilty Cajun. "How you didn't want me."

"It ain't that Ah didn't want yah baby girl," Remy quickly responded. "It was just, Ah…listen, Remy made a mistake, dat all."

"Mom said people mistakes when they're scared." Claire allowed.

Remy got on his knees and laid his large hands on the girl's small shoulders. "Listen, Ah'm sorry about that kitten, but dat all in the past. Ah want to make it up to yah now."

Claire looked down, refusing to meet his red and black eyes.

"Ah want yah to come live with meh, baby girl." Remy said, truly meaning it. "Ah got dis real nice place set up where Ah can look after yah. Ah can be yo pere."

Claire backed away from her father, shaking her head.

"You can't leave family."

"Ah, Ah know that, petite." Remy said weakly. "But Ah am yo family."

Claire shook her head sadly.

"We can play games, kitten, and go on trips." Remy offered desperately. "Claire, yah don't understand, if yah don't come with meh now, we won't be able ta see each other no more. We're gonna lose each other."

Claire's eyes filled with fat tears. She ran over to Remy and hugged him tightly around the neck.

"I don't wanna lose you Remy!" She whimpered. "Can't you stay and just be a secret angel again?"

"Dat won't work no more, petite." Remy answered, hugging his little girl tight. From down the hall, he heard stirring, like someone getting out of bed. He made Claire face him. "Ah know dis is a big decision to make, but yah got to choose."

There was true torment in Claire's eyes, and Remy held his breath while he thought.

This was new to him. As a professional thief, the world was his oyster. If he wanted something, he could just take it. That was the beauty of his life style. But for one of the first times in his life, he was going have the one thing he really wanted slip through his hands.

The footsteps in the hall were louder now. Remy stood quickly and made his way to the window. He felt a small hand grasp his trench coat and hold on tightly. He looked down into Claire's pale, sad face.

"Stay." Claire begged.

"You know Ah can't, kitten," Remy answered. "The only way we can be together is if yah come with meh."

Claire looked up into Remy's face, her eyes pleading, "Stay, Père."

Hearing that, Remy almost wanted to grab his daughter in his arms and take her with him into the night. But he knew he couldn't. Instead he bent down and quickly kissed her forehead.

"Je t'aime."

By the time Storm entered Claire's bedroom, the thief was gone. Claire was back in bed with her covers pulled over her head, pretending to sleep. Storm might have bought her performance if she couldn't hear Claire crying.


	6. Chapter 6

Seriously, why are you reading this story if it's just pissing you off? My goodness, if I come across a story I don't enjoy or agree with, I'm just like "oh well, at least this person is having fun writing" and THEN I MOVE ON WITH MY LIFE! And if I have some positive criticism to give, at least I have the decency to sign the review with my user name instead of making up a bunch of different names and trashing the person. I mean really, do you live such a life where all you have to amuse yourself is to read a story you don't like for FIVE chapters?

I'm writing this story because people have shown an interest in it and seem to be enjoying it, not to offend the randoms of the internet who want to start petty fights about NOTHING! These are comic book characters and this is a site where people use them as they please to write their own stories about them. I'm sorry we have a difference of opinion on how we see these characters.

If you would further like to discuss this, maybe you could use a real account name so I could inbox you these little rants instead of wasting the time of the other people who just want to read this story by replying this way. Or, save yourself the trouble and stop reading the story! It's obviously just upsetting you, and I'd feel horrible if one day when you're reading it you just have an aneurysm from my writing.

I really hope you can find someone else's story that you enjoy.

And to the people I haven't offended with my writing, thanks for your reviews. I hope you'll keep reading and enjoy this update.

Plus, The Truth, you are a wonderful human being :)

xXx

Eleven year old Claire sat moodily by the château's luxurious fireplace.

"How you doing, Claire?" Logan asked coming over to her. He was dressed for the cold and seven year old Jamie rode on his back. Getting to her side, Jamie hopped down and raced to the counter across the room where food could be ordered.

Claire looked up at her father and gestured at the wheelchair she was sitting it. "Just dandy."

Logan knelt down beside her. "I'm sorry Claire Bear. I know this trip isn't going so well for you."

"You can say that again." Claire sighed.

For a family vacation, they had all come to Whistler Blackcomb Ski Resort in British Columbia. At first Claire was just as excited as anyone else to go skiing until she came to the horrible realization that she sucked at skiing. The first morning when Storm and Logan had taken the kids up to the hill for their first lesson, she wobbled horribly, couldn't keep her balance, or steer. By midmorning, she had managed to slam into a tree and earned herself a simple fracture of her right fibula. While everyone had insisted that they could go home when the doctor given them the bad news, Claire had insisted that they stayed. Jamie was having the time of his life in the snow, and this was the first break her parents had in forever from saving the world. She found ways to amuse herself at the chateau and each family member each took an hour to visit with her, but she couldn't help but feel a bit resentful for having to spend her winter vacation in a wheelchair.

"Look what Jamie wrote on my cast while I was asleep." Claire pointed.

Logan looked towards the cast and snorted. " 'Claire stinks'"

"It isn't funny!" Claire insisted, though she was fighting a smile. "That kid's a brat."

"But you know he loves you." Logan smiled.

Claire grumbled in reply.

"Claire, look what I got you!" Jamie yelled, rushing over to them.

"In-door voice, kid." Logan reminded.

"Oh, right sorry." Jamie quickly apologized, skidding to a halt. With a goofy grin, he held out a large mug of hot chocolate to his sister. A large dollop of whip cream with chocolate shavings decorated the top. "Here you go Claire!"

Claire smiled in thanks and accepted the drink. She knew James blamed himself for her accident, but she had no hard feelings. He had zipped out in front of her while they were going downhill and in response she hit the tree.

"Thanks buddy. You want a sip, Dad?" Claire offered, holding out her mug.

"No thanks, that'll rot your teeth." Logan replied with a wolfish grin.

"More for me!"

"Dad," Jamie said, taking a sip from his own mug. "Mom wants to see you about something."

"Does she? Alright, you kids stay here and don't talk to strangers. You know what to do if anything bad happens." Logan instructed, standing up.

Both kids nodded. Hank had designed a small distress button for the two of them that sent out a high pitched whine if they pressed it. Much like a dog whistle, its frequency allowed only people (like Logan) with enhanced senses to hear it.

"So how did you get the hot chocolate Jamie?" Claire questioned. She knew her little brother hardly ever saved his allowance money and that he came on the vacation with nothing.

Jamie instantly looked guilty. "I, um, did that thing that I'm not supposed ta."

At the beginning of the year, James exhibited his mutant abilities. He had enhanced senses and a healing factor like his father, though it wasn't quite to the same level or training yet. While the family was pleased because the little boy didn't have the claws that would cause him agony like Logan's did, they were a little worried with his other ability. James could manipulate pheromones, meaning he had power over people's emotions. He had little control over this ability at first, so Hank developed a suit for him that would protect others from his power. Now he had enough control to prevent situations where everyone in the same room as him turns into angry upset beings because he throws a tantrum, but everyone once in a while his control would slip. In this situation, Claire very much disbelieved that his control 'just slipped'.

Jamie shuffled his foot against the beautiful dark hardwood floor. "I really wanted to get you something 'cause you were looking so sad, but I didn't have any money. And then the grumpy man over there asked if I wanted something and I kind of said 'two hot chocolates' before I really thought about it. And then he got really mad at me cause I didn't have any money so I made him be happy."

"Jamie, you're not supposed to do that." Claire said, more as a reminder than scolding him.

"I know! But its not fair! You and Dad and Mom can all use your guyes powers, but when I use mine its bad!" Jamie exclaimed, clearly getting upset.

"I know," Claire said quickly, looking around to make sure no one had overheard them speaking about superpowers. "it doesn't make much sense now, but it will when you're older. And don't worry, I'm not going to tell on you."

Jamie calmed down, feeling better now that he had been reassured that he wasn't going to get tattled on. He grinned, showing the gaps where he had lost teeth and downed the rest of his hot chocolate. Jamie was tall for his age and incredibly thin. His skin tone matched his mother's, and he shared her cheekbones. His bright white hair was cut short, and the middle was spiked up and dyed blue (something he begged his parents to allow for months). Other than the healing factor and super senses, from his father he got a strong chin he would grow into. His sweet boyish face almost always held a smile and his blue eyes sparkled with mischief.

Once he took the mug away from his face, Jamie sniffed the air. Slowly a small frown formed on his face.

"Hey Claire…"

"Jamie, I do not want to play 'Guess who farted'" Claire said with a hint of warning.

"No, I wasn't talking about that. But the guy over by the bar totally ripped one though." Jamie giggled, making Claire groan. Little brothers were annoying enough without them having super senses. "What I was gonna say is that lady by the desk smells like you. Like, a lot like you."

Claire sat up straighter in her wheelchair. "What lady?"

Jamie pointed to a slender woman leaning on the reception desk. She had full brown hair that fell just to her shoulders. When she turned to speak to the handsome man with her, Claire saw that she was in her late twenties, maybe thirty at the most. She had dark red stained lips and a pale clear complexion. Elegantly plucked eyebrows expressed plain brown eyes. She was very pretty, but something about her made Claire think she also looked slightly unkind.

"What do you think that means Claire?" Jamie asked, curious.

Though she shrugged in reply, Claire has a pretty good guess of what her and the stranger smelling alike meant. They shared the same light skin tone, face shape and nose. Claire even thought they stood in the same posture.

That woman could be her birthmother.

What should she do? Roll over there and see if the woman responds to her? Demand answers from the stranger about why she didn't want her? Completely freak her out by throwing her arms around the lady and yell "Mommy!"

No, those were some of the worst ideas ever imagined in history. The truth was, Claire didn't care who she was. The woman could have given her life, but that's where their connection ended. She was no where close to being what Storm was to Claire.

Claire had decided a long time ago that love is thicker than blood.

Both child watched in silence as the woman and man began to leave. Storm and Logan entered from around the corner. Claire felt the blood drain away from her face when Logan clearly sniffed the air and looked directly at the leaving woman. A cold realization came over his face and he quickly looked over towards his children to see if they knew what he did.

Claire took James' hand and tapped out a message using the code they made up years before. When your dad has super hearing, you have to be sneaky when telling secrets. The message read "play dumb". In reply he gave a slight nod.

When her parents were close enough, Claire reached out from her chair and hugged them around the knees. It was her way of saying 'I love you guys', without revealing that she knew her birthmother had just been in the same room as them.

Jamie used the nearby couch to jump onto his dad's back. Once there he asked "Can we go get some food? I'm starving!"

xXx

*Just a little explanation here. For stories where I have the main character grow older, I write their part in second person until they get to teenage years because I privately believe that no one grows a conscious brain until they are over the age of thirteen. Some cases vary, like some eleven year olds are surprisingly aware and some don't grow their brain until their thirty five. Any way, that's why for the rest of the story, when Claire's involved, it will be in first person*

I lay awake in her bed, practically shaking with anticipation. In two minutes, I would be sixteen years old. And A couldn't wait. Not just because tomorrow I'm having a huge birthday party, or because it meant that I'd be allowed to participate in the Danger Room sessions with the senior classes (usually protocol stated that you had to be in grade twelve to get involved in the risky DR practices, but there was a loophole I found that said that anyone about the age sixteen could be involved if they had a signed permission form from their parents. And I had finally worn down Logan into signing my sheet!).

Because something even more exciting was going down tonight. My first solo motorcycle ride!

Slowly I edged out of bed and to my window. I was dressed in all black and carried my shoes to create less noise. Carefully I opened the window, letting a cool night breeze in. I had just swung one leg over the side when I heard a cheerful voice call out.

"What'cha doing Claire?"

I looked to the doorway of my room where my little brother Jamie stood, smirking at me.

I moaned and banged my head against the window frame with annoyance. Was I really that stupid that I expected to sneak out when I share the apartment with two people with super hearing?

"He he, busted!" Jamie laughed, taking a running leap and jumping onto my bed.

"You should be in bed." I told the eleven year old sternly.

Jamie just smiled sweetly at me. "So should you."

Mom was accompanying Aunt Jean and the Professor to some charity event and Dad was somewhere in Canada, trying to track down the Hulk for the Avengers (with the oath that he'd be back on the morning of my ever so sweet sixteen). I thought I was going to make an easy escape, but of course my ratty little bro had to ruin it.

I sighed, "Alright, what's it going to cost me for you not to tell the 'rents about this?"

Jamie grinned, "You have to help me build a tree house."

"Really? That's all?" I asked, surprised. Usually the little fink wormed way more out of me.

"That's all. I figured since it's your birthday, I should let you off easy." Jamie replied, pointing to the clock. He was right, it is my birthday.

I left the window to give him a hug. "Thanks buddy."

"No probs, Smelly Bear."

I let his new stupid nickname for me slide and hurried back to the window. Creating a flat disk out of my dresser's shadow, I crawled onto it and it lowered me to the ground safely. Praying that none of the teachers were still up and looking out of their windows, I raced across the well manicured lawn to the large garage. Using my shadow bending skills once again, I formed a key to unlock the door and let myself in.

Thankfully my mutant ability also allowed me to see in the dark (well, not so much as see like night vision, but I can sense what and where things are), so I didn't have to turn on the lights which could have gotten me caught. I navigated my way to where one of Dad's bikes stood.

Even though it wasn't one of his better ones, to me it was still beautiful. For the past month I had been studying them every time we went into the garage, trying to decide which one I should take. I decided on the most used, cherished one because I figured that if I crashed it, he wouldn't be as mad, and that if the ride went okay, he might not notice for awhile.

Sitting down on it, I grinned like a mad woman.

"This is going to be sweet."

xXx

"Wahoo!" I exclaimed as I tore up the empty road. I was freezing and I had no idea if my parents had found out that I snuck out yet, but I didn't care! This is one of the coolest things I've ever done in my entire life! No wonder Dad loves his motorcycles as if they were family members.

Another bike came around the corner behind me, and was now following at a reasonable distance. At first I had a mini panic attack because I thought it was Dad, and then I remembered that he was still in Canada and that he had taken the Blackbird, not a motorcycle with him. Then I found it super weird that there was another person on a bike, at this time of night.

The stranger weaved the bike from side to side with expert skill. He clearly was looking for attention. Experimentally, I gave the bike more gas to race ahead, then eased off and repeated.

He understood my meaning and we began to race.

At first it was fun. It was nothing like Dad's lessons where I was just allowed to put around the driveway. It gave me a new burst of adrenalin and a thrill that couldn't be beat. But then our speeds were starting to climb into a range where I wasn't sure if I had enough control over the bike. While doing a curve, the bike did a skid, which really freaked me out.

Feeling like a coward, I let off the gas and finally slowed to a stop. Still feeling scared and queasy, I ran to the ditch and bent over, sure I was going to heave my dinner. I was shaking.

The other driver saw that I had stopped and slowed down as well. He turned around and came back to stop beside me. I couldn't hear him that well because of the roar of the bikes and because he kept his helmet shield down, but this is what I thought I heard.

"Dat was a little dangerous. Better hold off on the streetrac'n until yah get a bit more experience, okay petite? Yah got good skills though. Yah better be head'n back home, before yah get caught." The man pulled a small wrapped box out of his coat and tossed it to me. "Here yah go Kitten, happy birthday."

Before I could react, he revved his engine and sped away.

I looked down at the prettily wrapped box in my hand. In had been almost eleven years since I had seen him, and I wondered if he'd wait another eleven for the next 'visit'.

xXx

So I'm not sure where this chapter really came from. I guess I was just thinking about the old X-men cartoon, and I remembered the one where Gambit was horrible at skiing. Anyway, sorry for this lame intro to Claire's biological mother. I figured she has enough problems without having her mother involved, plus the plot I have in mind doesn't include her. But I felt like you guys deserved explanation or introduction for her (even a lame one like this), so here it is.


	7. Chapter 7

xXx

The Xavier grounds were alive with action. Fortunately for us, it was not the sort of action that involved giant killer robots, Purifiers, or Brotherhood members. Nope, this kind of action involved a ceremony, lots of food, pictures, and teenagers running around in black robes.

"Okay, everyone get together!" Mom smiled, holding up her camera. She was wearing a sophisticated white sundress and had pulled her equally white hair back into a stylish bun. In the sea of black, she stood out wonderfully.

I stood smiling with my arms around two of my best friends, Kitty Pryde and Nira Malhorapoli. Just before my mom could snap the picture, a cloud of dark smoke surrounded us and we felt ourselves lifted into the air. When the smoke cleared, we saw that Peter Rasputin was holding the three of us girl over his head. Kurt Wagner and Alex Summers knelt in front with their gown sleeves rolled up to show their flexing arms. All three boys smiled, showing all the teeth they could.

The flash went off, signalling that the moment was caught. Kurt and Alex high fived and Peter gently placed us back on the ground.

"You guys are such idiots." Nira moaned, shaking her head.

"Hey, vhat vere ve supposed to do?" Kurt protested, grinning. "Jah girls were trying to take a picture vithout the men in jere lives!"

"We were going to get a picture with you later, this one was just supposed to be of us girls." Kitty explained.

"Oh, we're sorry. Please, go ahead." Alex apologised, stepping back and pulling the other boys with him.

We got back together and posed once more. Again before Mom could take the picture Alex yelled out, 'Wait, you forgot one of the girls!' and pushed Kurt into the picture. Him and Peter snorted as Kurt blushed a darker blue. I shared a look with Nira and Kitty and they nodded, understanding the plan. I motioned for Mom to take another picture and I pressed my lips to Kurt's cheek, with the other girls following my lead.

That shut the other guys up. Seeing as Kitty was dating Peter and Nira was with Alex.

Mom walked closer to us. "Claire, I'd like to get some pictures of you with James and your father. You know how hard it was to get them into their suits and I'm afraid we won't get the opportunity to force them into them again soon."

"Yeah, sure Mom." I answered, before saying to my friends. "I'll catch up with you guys later."

My friends didn't have a problem with breaking up the photo shoot because less than a second later their relatives came to collect them for their own pictures. Jean dragged her brother in law and her husband to the gardens as Kitty's parents appeared to congratulate their daughter on all her awards from the ceremony. Mr. Malhorapoli, who had arrived from Mumbai on his private jet this morning, came over and presented his daughter with the keys to her new convertible. Peter's parents (who came all the way from Russia for his graduation) came over to congratulate him. Seeing that his friend was alone, Peter pulled Kurt over to be included and be introduced to his parents.

As I walked away from my fellow graduates (oh brother, I'm still sounding like a valedictorian), I couldn't help but feel a bit sad knowing that we'd all be going our separate ways soon. Nira was going back to India (Kurt and I privately thought to start her own team of Indian X-men, but she said to study law and then work at her father's firm), Kitty and Alex was going to teacher's college (to later return as teacher's at the Institute) while Kurt and Peter were staying at the mansion since they made the try outs for X-men.

I was going to miss my goofballs.

I pushed those thoughts away as we came to stand beside Dad. He was pulling at the tie Mom forced onto him before the ceremony as he talked to Hank. Hearing (and probably smelling us) approaching he turned and smiled. "Hey, there's my little valedictorian."

I grinned sheepishly in reply.

"Claire, your speech was wonderful. A really good balance between humour and solemnity." Hank complemented.

"Thanks Dr. McCoy." I replied, "I'm just glad I didn't throw up."

The adults laughed and Hank excused himself to talk to Dr. MacTaggert.

"Now, stand together and Logan, straighten your tie." Mom ordered.

I helped Dad with his tie before posing in the position Mom ordered.

"I think I'm going to suffocate in this tie." Dad muttered quietly to me, making me giggle.

"It's a good thing you have a healing factor then." Mom called cheerfully, overhearing his comment. From our position we could see James trying to sneak past with his friend Andrew, but like a whip, Mom's hand snapped out and pulled him over.

"Jamie, I've been wondering where you've gotten to."

"I was just, uh, coming to look for you guys." James lied weakly. Out of Mom's sight, Andrew gave a wave and made a run for it, abandoning James.

"Right." Mom said, obviously not buying it. "Get in the picture."

James came to stand with us. Having known before that Mom would go all photographer/drill sergeant on us as always, me and my little bro had planned something special. With one of us on each side of Dad, we pulled out the cutlery we had been saving in our pockets and made fake claws. As butter knives and forks stuck out from between our fingers, we gave the most ferocious, feral snarl we could.

Mom rubbed her temples. "Why are you making this harder on me?"

After a little begging on our part, Jamie and I convinced Dad to pop out his own claws and snarl with us.

"Why can't we take a nice, normal picture?" Mom asked.

"Because, 'bub', this is what we do." I laughed at the expression on Mom's face. I loved the woman with all my heart, but few things made me happier than teasing and prodding her. I'm pretty sure one day she's just going to flip and fry me with a lightning bolt.

After we took enough pictures for Mom's liking, Jamie escaped to find Andrew and Mom went to go find the Professor to discuss the graduation dinner they planned for the grads and their families. Which left me standing with Dad by the rose gardens.

"Any chance you could sniff out the cake for tonight and we could grab a couple slices without Mom finding out?" I joked, straightening the tassel on my cap.

"I could find it alright, but you know she'd murder us when she found out." Dad grinned. "But I've got something better for you anyway. Come on."

"Is it a convertible? Because Nira's dad gave her one." I asked, following him.

"You wish, kid."

I followed Dad through the gardens and back to our apartment. Here we could no longer hear the commotion from the grounds. Dad had used his tie as a blindfold on me, and had to guide me through the apartment.

"What is it? You know I hate surprises!" I asked, shifting my head different ways to try to peek.

Dad pulled off the blindfold, "Here you go darl'n."

"Oh Dad..."

Laying on my bed was a X-men uniform spread out. It was black and gold one piece suit, with a hood and no sleeves. Soft gold ankle boots and a belt were laid out beside it, both of them baring the encircled 'X'. I reached down to feel the material and found it to be the same stretchy, bullet proof cloth that the Professor and Hank had invented for the team members.

It was beautiful, but I couldn't take it.

"Dad," I said weakly. "This is great, really, but you know my plans and they aren't to be an X-man."

Over this past year, most of our conversations had gone the same way. Dad wanted me to join the X-men once I was done school, and for years I had been planning to. But after much thinking I decided I wanted to help people, but in a different way. I didn't want to commit a life to the crazy world of superheroes, but I could commit to one in law enforcement. In the fall I'd be leaving to train at the CPS Law Enforcement Training Academy in New York to become a police officer, and Dad wasn't too happy about it. Mom wasn't either, because she wanted me to go through as a doctor, but eventually she had accepted my decision. I thought I could better improve human mutant relations if I was working with them and doing it by the law, plus I thought it was about time that the NYPD actually had some super powered joes on the force. It felt so right for me.

This uniform was just another ploy from him to drag me back to Superheroville. I braced myself to hear the same argument we've been having for the past year.

"I know."

I blinked. "What?"

Dad grinned at my response and sat down on the bed. I joined him, trying to see if this was a trick.

"Darl'n, I know you're bent on being a police officer and I'm tired of trying to convince you to join the X-men. I've been thinking about it and I guess I decided that I agree, this is a good thing for you." He explained. "But I want you to know that you're always welcome here and that if you change your mind, that's great. Plus you'll always be considered a reserved member so you might as well get a costume."

I hugged my burly father tightly. "I love you Dad."

"I love you too Claire Bear."

xXx


	8. Chapter 8

After two hard years of schooling, pushing my body to its limits, having to be separated from my family and even getting pepper sprayed in the eyes; I'm finally patrolling the streets. Under the supervision and protection of two real NYPD cops, of course, but still it was a huge step forward. While everyone had reassured me that nothing ever happens for the rookies first 'walk', and if anything did, I'd be pushed aside so that the real cops could deal with it, that's not how it was working out.

The partners had sent me to get them coffee (one of the classic grunge jobs of being a rookie) and when I got back to them, all Hell had broken loose. Both of the older cops had been knocked out in an alley close by and a voice was blaring from their walkie-talkies. What I got from the dispatcher on the radio was the Black Cat had been sighted fleeing from the Museum of Natural History where a break in had just taken place. The night guards at the museum had been drugged, but a janitor had seen everything. Cleopatra's gold necklace was missing from the Egypt exhibit. All available officers were to take the Black Cat down.

"It had to be my first night." I muttered. It had to be a super powered villain. I had worked very hard to keep my mutant powers a secret and I could blow my cover my first night because Ms. Kitty-Cat decided she needed another pretty ancient trinket.

I radioed in our position and asked for an ambulance for the other two officers before hurrying deeper into the alley. I looked around me to make sure no one was watching before removing my blue coloured contacts. My mutation makes my eyes complete black, which means I have to wear contacts to hide them so I don't look like a possessed demon or something. But for some reason, my shadow bending powers don't work if my eyes are covered by anything (glasses, contacts, cloth, etc). Weird, I know. So right now I have to look like Creepy-MaGee so that I can take down the Cat.

Gesturing at the shadow of a nearby trashcan, I pulled it towards me and formed a solid disk. After stepping on it, it shot up to the top of the closest building. Knowing the Black Cat, she would be taking the rooftops as her escape route.

Okay, think Claire! The museum is four blocks away, and the Cat will probably be taking her time because she's cocky that no one else will be able to follow her by the roofs so she should be…

Right over there.

I couldn't count this one as a win yet though, because she had company.

Spiderman.

I groaned. "You've got to be kidding me!"

Using the same disk as a sort of skate board, I zoomed towards their roof.

"Come on Cat! You have to give it back!" Spiderman pleaded.

The Black Cat just smiled and wrapped her arms around the superhero's neck. In a seductive voice she purred. "But Spider, it's just my style! I've always wanted something from Egypt."

He pulled back, but not much. "It's not yours."

"It's not really the museum's either." She pouted. "It's Cleopatra's."

"That doesn't mean you can steal from them! It's wrong!"

What was this?! Spiderman begging criminals to return stolen items instead of just webbing them? Why would…oh, now I get it. The Spider has shacked up with the Cat. Great, just great. New York's hero with a notorious cat burglar. Come on Spidey, you know better than that!

"What are you going to do," The Black Cat asked playfully, stepping back. "Arrest me?"

"He won't," I called, pulling my gun. "But I will. Put down the artifact and step away."

Both of them turned to me in complete shock.

"How the Hell did she get up here?" The Cat gasped, taking a defensive position.

"I'm not going to ask you again!" I called in a firm voice. It was easier issuing commands while wearing my uniform, it gave me a kind of strength.

"Oh, I highly doubt that." She muttered. She then called in a spirited voice. "Tell me sweetie, how does a baby cop know I'm up here, let alone get on a rooftop?"

"Get down on your knees and put your hands behind your head." I commanded, targeting her with my gun.

"Ooh, Spider, isn't that what you said to me last night?" She purred, ignoring me.

"Just give up the necklace and we can get out of here." Spiderman told her quietly.

"Hmmm…" The Cat purred, putting a finger to her chin as though thinking. She then threw me a devilish grin. "No."

"Cat!" I yelled, but she was already leaping to the next building. Her laughter irritated me to a point where I couldn't take it any more. "STOP!"

I threw up my hands, creating a shadow wall in front of the Black Cat. She slammed into it, not seeing it in the blackness of the night. I then weaved a rope out of the shadows and lassoed her, dragging her back. When I got her back, she was unconscious.

"Oh," Was all Spiderman said.

"I shouldn't have done that." I groaned sitting down. "My cover's completely blown."

"I can't believe I didn't recognise you, Weaver. Look at you, all dressed up like a cop." Spiderman said, in a joking tone. "Wolvie must be so proud."

"Yeah, it must be weird seeing me without a mask." I replied in a monotone voice.

Of course Spidey knew me, or at least, my superhero alias 'Shadow Weaver'. Back when I was sure I was going to be a superhero, I used to go with Dad to team up with him. Some nights I would even sneak out to patrol New York with Spidey without Dad. My powers aren't very common ones, so the moment I used them I gave myself away. Plus my black eyes and voice also helped deface me.

I turned to him. "And what do you think you're doing? The Black Cat?! Come on Spidey."

"Yeah, well, its complicated." He admitted, scratching his head. "I know I'm going to sound horribly even suggesting this but, any chance you can let her go? Just retrieve the necklace and not take her in?"

"Are you going to cause problems for me if I do try to take her in?" I asked. When he didn't answer, I said. "I know she's your…friend, but she's a thief. The law is the law, I can't let her walk."

"I understand." Spidey sighed. He reached down and took a black velvet bag from the Cat's belt, handing it to me. "You've always been such a 'goody-goody', Weaver."

I accepted the bag and jokingly punched his shoulder. "Shut up, you were always more of one than I ever was."

I heard sirens below. "Well, I'd better get her down there before- Spiderman!"

I turned to see Spiderman swinging away, the Cat cradled in his arms. I raced to the building's edge, but he was already ten rooftops away. "SPIDERMAN!"

"Sorry Weaver, but I have to do this!" He shouted back, truly sounding sorry.

I could have tried the lasso trick again, but that would have just ended in a fight. And as angry as I was at Web-head right now, I couldn't fight my old partner. Defeated, I clutched the necklace closer to me and used the shadows to get off the roof. Once on the ground, I hurried back to where the now conscious cops were being treated by paramedics. There were four other cops there. I walked up to one of the officers and handed her the bag.

"The Cat's gone." I stated as the older cops looked at me in shock. "She took to the roofs and I couldn't follow her."

The cop, Officer Dallas, looked in the bag then back at me with sharp eyes. "How did you get this?"

I hate lying, I really do. But sometimes it's unavoidable.

"Spiderman was going after her. They struggled and the bag fell from her belt." I answered with a straight face. "I just picked it up."

"Spiderman was actually fighting her?" One of the cops muttered to the other. "From what I heard, they're an item now."

"Well, good job, even if it was just picking up the artefact, officer-?" Officer Dallas said.

"LeBeau." I answered.

"LeBeau? Are you French?" The officer that had muttered to the other before asked.

I shook my head, "No, um, just no."

I am going to legally change my name as soon as I can. What fool had thought it was a good idea to make my last name 'LeBeau'? People always ask 'Are you French?' and then I have no explanation to why a completely English girl has a very French name.

"Are they going to be okay?" I asked, nodding to the senior partners I had been paired with.

"Yes, the gas she uses isn't harmful, though they will have killer headaches for awhile." Dallas answered. "For the rest of your patrol, you'll be paired with Redrick and Blake. The three of you can return the artifact to the museum right away so the curator can get his panties out of their twist."

She nodded to the officer who asked about my name, a man in his early thirties, and a younger officer in his early twenties.

Redrick saluted Dallas and accepted the bag. He called over his shoulder as he walked towards a squad car. "You saddled me with two rookies? Thanks a lot Dallas."

The younger cop, Blake, shook his head. "I've been doing this for two years and he still calls me the rookie."

I offered a weak smile and followed him to the car. I paused only for a moment, I had the feeling someone was watching me. I shivered but proceeded.

What a first night. Maybe Dad was right, the superhero business would be less exciting.

xXx

High above the city, a pair of glowing red eyes looked down on the group of police officers below. Remy flipped a queen of hearts through his nimble fingers with a grace most casino workers would be envious of as he thought.

He had heard rumours of course, but whenever a new one found its way to his ears, he thought it was people pulling his leg. Sacré bleu, the thief's daughter a _cop_? They had to be joking! But here was the proof, standing on the sidewalk below him, verifying that the rumours were true. There she stood, his kitten in her crisp black uniform and hat, respectfully talking to her superior officers.

From what he witnessed, Claire was good at her job already.

The Cat wasn't the only one at the museum, practicing her art. At the moment an antique knife was tucked away safely in Gambit's long trench coat. He had taken to the rooftops as an escape route as well, and was about to knock out Spidey to see if the Cat would like to experience his 'Cajun charm' when he heard a familiar voice. His Claire, practically a grown woman and dressed as a cop, also on the roof. He shrank back to the shadows when hearing her voice, and hid as he watched her work. She took out the Cat and retrieved that tacky necklace in minutes (she let her guard down around Spidey, which was a mistake, but she still did well), before returning to her superiors. He was surprised when she made up a story about finding the necklace instead of accepting full credit for the retrieval, but he supposed that her mutant identity was a secret.

Slowly, a grin found its way to his mouth.

Officer LeBeau.

That was funny.

"Good luck, petite," Remy called softly, saluting his daughter with the card in his hand.


	9. Chapter 9

xXx

I was speeding down the highway on my motorcycle (a gift from Mom and Dad for graduating from the police academy) towards the Xavier Institute. It was my first weekend off since I was hired at the NYPD four months before and I was glad to be going home, even for a few days. It had been forever since I've seen my family and this was a surprise visit. The only ones who knew I was coming were Aunt Jean and the Professor, and I only told them because I wanted to be sure the Fam-Jam was there.

I took the back entrance into the school to avoid ruining the surprise. Parking my bike and taking off my helmet, I stood for some time, just looking up at the school I called home since I was a baby. I missed it so much. I was currently living in a small sketchy apartment in Hell's Kitchen, because as a rookie cop I was hardly making anything, and it was nothing like the warm, clean Xavier estates. Sure it was chaotic because it housed super powered teenagers, but it was always loving.

Home.

To keep up the surprise, I decided not to just go through the front door and instead go through the family's apartment window on the fifth floor. As an officer of the law, I know this probably is a bad idea, but my inner child is screaming 'do it!'. As well, I wrap myself in my shadows to prevent Dad or James from smelling me (when I wear my shadows, it's like I'm untraceable! Telepaths can't sense me and ferals can't smell me).

Since we were little, James and I loved playing 'Sneak' with Dad. We'd always try to sneak up on each other or on Dad, or Dad on us. Sure, they had super senses, but I could still get them once in awhile. If I could pull this one off, I'd be the ultimate 'Sneaker'.

I rode a shadow disk up to the biggest window, unable to stop myself from smiling. This was going to be sooo great! I glanced in the large window that looked in on the dinning room and saw no one, but did notice the door knob begin to turn. Quickly opening the window and ducking out of sight, I waited until I heard the door open and my parents' voices.

Then I leapt through the window and shouted 'SURPRISE!'

I stopped smiling when I realized that it wasn't just my family looking at me in shock, but my partner on the force, Christopher Blake.

My very human partner.

The one that had no clue I was a mutant.

In synch, together me and my partner stammered 'I can explain!'

xXx

Dad recovered first, which wasn't a surprise. Unless he's in a Wolvie rage, he's as cool as a cucumber. He walked up to me and embraced me in a bear hug. "Claire, what are you doing home?"

I could feel my face burning. I quickly kissed Dad's cheek and muttered, "I got the weekend off Dad, so I came up to visit."

Blake gaped, " 'Dad'?"

"That's wonderful honey, we're glad to have you home." Mom said in her regal way, coming over and giving my arm a squeeze before entering the kitchen. "That means we have two guests for the weekend."

I raised my eyebrow, "Two?"

We all entered the kitchen at this point. Mom set me to peeling potatoes (just because this is my first break in months it doesn't mean I'm excused from dinner prep). The job wouldn't take too long though because Dad came over to help.

"Claire, this is Andrew's older brother, Chris Blake. I invited both to stay for dinner." Mom 'introduced'.

Andrew…Blake. How did I not see the connection? Andrew is my little brother's best friend, and I had heard him mention a few times that his brother was a cop. Of course, the two didn't look alike and my partner had failed to mention that his little brother was a mutant. Andrew has a sharp face, and a tall lanky body while Blake's (I hardly ever referred to him as Chris) is chiselled and his is muscular. Blake has short black hair and crystal blue eyes. Andrew has black feathers where his hair should be, predator hawk eyes and wings coming out of his back. Other than their height and easy, bright, half smile, there is no family resemblance between the two!

"Yes, thank you for having us Mrs. Logan." Blake said in his dumb charming way (ugh, he makes me sick sometimes! Female witnesses and criminals alike will spit in my face but turn to butter for my partner when he turns on his charm. A drag queen even gave him a marriage proposal once). "Sir, I can peel those."

"Thanks," Dad said, with surprise, stepping aside so that Blake could stand at the sink with me. "and don't bother with that 'sir', just call me Logan."

Blake gave him a smile and began to peel a potato. At that moment the phone rang and Mom went to answer it, and Dad excused himself. Once we were alone, I turned on Blake.

"You never told me your little brother was a mutant!" I whispered to him, furiously hacking at a potato. I was still red in embarrassment from jumping through the window and yelling 'surprise'.

"Just like you never told me that _your_ little brother was a mutant." Black whispered back. "Or that your parents are mutants. Oh, or that you're a mutant."

I realized he was staring at my black, demon like eyes, and quickly put on the sun glasses that were in my pocket.

"So that's what your eyes really look like?" He asked in a soft voice.

"Yeah."

"Why didn't you tell me? I'm your partner." Blake asked.

I put down my peeler. "Because I couldn't! What if the force finds out I'm a mutant? They'll fire my ass!"

"LeBeau! Do you still not trust me at all? I'm your partner, I've got your back." Blake said, his pretty blue eyes holding my black ones. "Just like you've got mine."

I muttered something and blushed harder. The truth was, Blake gave me chills. It wasn't only that he was attractive, everything about him made me want to smile. His sense of humour, his intelligence, his easy going nature. He was ideal as a partner, because he could play both the supportive, kind officer that could coax victims and witnesses to trust him and the tough kind of scary officer that criminals didn't want to mess with.

For some reason, he liked me too.

After a few months together as partners and lots of flirting, Blake asked me out. Which I had to say no to. It wasn't as simple as we just worked together. It was that he is human and I'm not. I don't mean to sound racist, but how could it possibly work out? It was better to turn him down then risk him finding me out.

I snuck a glance at Blake and my heart gave me a jolt when I realized he was looking my way. He gave me his brilliant smile and went back to peeling potatoes.

Why does my face feel so warm?

xXx

That night, I laid awake in my childhood bed, smiling at the ceiling like a lunatic. After a wonderful family meal, which we were entertained the whole time by the Blake Brothers', Blake and me went for a walk around the grounds. I showed him my home and introduced him to a few of my friends and family. The way he treated everyone, you'd think he was a mutant himself.

I even showed him my tree, the old oak where I used to play with my 'angel'. He followed me up to where the branches came together to form a small platform.

"So, LeBeau is part squirrel." Blake commented, looking around the tree. "I would have never guessed."

"Yup, my stash of acorns are over there." I earned a laugh from Blake. "This was just always my place, somewhere I could hide out for a couple hours without students or well meaning teachers finding me. I would sit here, just listening to music and thinking."

"What would you think about?" Blake asked softly.

I shrugged in response. Most of the time I was here, I would think about where Remy was and what he was doing. Whether he missed me or thought about me. I would make up scenarios where he would come back and live with my family, or he was hiding in the woods just waiting for me to find him. When I was mad at Mom or Dad, I would imagine him coming and taking me to live with him in New Orleans as his daughter.

Finally, I said "Bacon."

Blake grinned, "Bacon?"

"Yup, bacon. What it went good with, how it tasted," I shrugged. "That kind of stuff."

"Right, who doesn't think about bacon." Blake nodded.

We climbed back down and got back to the grounds in time to play pick up soccer with some of the students. Blake was great with them, even when they teased him about not having any powers. When Dad came out, we divided up the teams. Two cops, and twelve super powered students against one Wolverine. Wolverine kicked our asses.

The night ended with me bullying James, Andrew and Blake into watch all three Back to the Future movies with me.

I sighed, closing my eyes and rolling onto my side.

xXx

In the guest room, Chris Blake snored loudly.

Remy never thought pretty boys snored. Carefully, he walked over to his bed side and looked down.

"You just watch yourself, boy." He said. "Dis girl has had enough problems, she don't need no more. If you go after my petite, you better be willing to be the best damn man she's ever met. And if you hurt Claire, you'll regret it."

Blake snorted and rolled over, muttering in his sleep about bacon.


	10. Chapter 10

*Claire's memory dream*

We were out on the roof. The highest part of it. Every Sunday night Remy takes me here to look at the stars. He says the stars are prettier in New Orleans, but I don't think anything could beat the ones here. Or maybe all the stars are the same? These are the things I wonder about a lot.

I shivered in the cold wind, but I didn't want to stop looking at the skies to get a blanket or sweater. My shivering intensified and Remy noticed.

"Damn petite, I'm sorry. I should have got you a coat or somethin'." Remy apologised before pulling me close to him. He sat me in his lap and pulled his coat close around me, instantly cutting the cold.

"You shouldn't swear Remy." I scolded like I heard Mommy do when Daddy let a bad word slip.

"Yeah yeah," Remy replied, giving me a smile.

I turned my face slightly so that my nose stuck under the coat so that it would warm up. I inhaled, taking in the scent of my angel. Some parts of Remy's scent I loved, like the leather, spices, and motor oil. Other parts made me feel a bit ill, like the cigarettes and what I thought was alcohol.

I never knew angels smoked and drank.

"Remy, today when I went with Daddy into the city to pick up flowers and a present for Mommy's birthday, a bunch of people started throwing rocks at me." I said in a quiet voice, staring at the stars.

I felt his muscles tense, "What?!"

"I was waiting for Daddy to finish talking to the saleslady, so I was looking around at stuff. A couple other kids were playing tag and they asked me to play. Everything was fun until one kid knocked my sunglasses off." I nibbled on my bottom lip. "Then everyone saw my eyes and got mad."

I saw Remy look down and spot the bruises the rocks left.

"Daddy got really mad. He popped his claws and started yelling. Aunt Jeanie had ta come and use her powers so people wouldn't remember us."

Remy hugged me tightly, resting his nose on the top of my head. "I wish I was there for yah petite."

"It okay, Remy, I know you can't be 'round me when there's other people around."

"But what if I could always be around you…"

"What did you say Remy?" I asked tilting my head up to look at him.

"Noth'n petite."

"Why do they hate me?" I asked. I know my eyes aren't pretty like Mommy's or Jean-Paul's, but is that enough for people to hate me? As long as my eyes let me see, what should it matter what they looked like? Why are people so mean to me when they see them?

Remy took a deep breath, stalling. He lit up a smelly cigarette and took a few puffs from it before he finally spoke.

"Kitten, yah are smart, kind, funny and beautiful. Yah're truly special, and that scares people. They be jealous of how special yah are." He answered. "Don't you ever be forgetting that its not you're problem, its theirs. You understand, petite?"

I nodded, though I didn't quite understand. I thought being special was a good thing, not something that made people hate you.

"Alright den. I think that's enough star gaz'n for one night." Remy said lifting me up. I swung around so that I clung to his back like a monkey, and he began to climb down the roof towards my bedroom window. "Let's get you into bed."

I yawned as he tucked me back into bed. Daddy tucks me in at night, but I like the way that Remy does it better. Daddy always tucks me in so tight that I can barely breathe (not that I'd tell him. I know he likes doing it and I don't want him to feel bad for not doing it right), but Remy does it just so the blankets hug me but I can still move around.

"Remy can you stay until I fall asleep?" I asked in a whisper.

The bed sank a little as he sat down.

"Anything for you petite."

xXx


End file.
